Aroma Cucina

Never Forgotten: Locanda al Gambero Rosso

 It was a bittersweet dinner at Locanda al Gambero Rosso. A restaurant we’ve loved, that we’ve called our favorite in the whole world, will shut the lights and shutter their doors at the end of August. Our hearts are broken, but we are looking forward to the next chapters in the lives of Giuliana, Moreno, Michela and Paolo.

Being in the kitchen, for very long hours, day after day, will take its toll on anyone and Giuliana and Moreno have chosen to take a well-deserved break from the demands of running a restaurant.

We were honored that Moreno sat and talked with us throughout our dinner. We’ve always felt a strong connection to this delicious man who is so tied to the history and flavors of his area.

Moreno is a master forager, whose knowledge of the fields and woods in his area is unsurpassed. What Giuliana knows about how to finesse every bit of flavor out of these foraged bits makes her truly a Master Chef.

Long before terroir and foraging became trendy, people were combing the steep, rugged hills around San Piero in Bagno looking for something edible. It was survival foraging, not an enhancement to a plate, but something to keep going for another day.

Now, the term ‘cucina povera’ conjures up images of warm bean soups lovingly ladled into big soup bowls. The reality was much, much harsher. A daily diet of hoarded beans or chickpeas, the foraged greens and maybe a speck of precious meat grows monotonous day after day after day. Its not romantic, its sustenence.

And now, one of our most treasured links to this history is about to change.

Of course we asked, why are you closing? Can’t someone continue in the tradition of Gambero Rosso?  Moreno shook his head and said, “Italians don’t care anymore.”  This is something we’ve heard him say before, but this time it was said with such sadness and resignation that we asked him to explain.

 He said  ‘cucina povera’ is something that people want to forget, they are embarrassed by this history. In a parallel fashion, it’s something we, as first or second generation Amercians, can understand. Our grandparents emigrated to the US and wanted their children to assimilate, so out of embarrassment they chose not to teach them their native language, but let them speak only English. And so, subsequent generations lost a significant chunk of their culture.  

Moreno, we think things are more positive than you imagine. The pendulum is swinging back as more and more people are looking to cherish and honor their roots.

People are encouraging Giuliana and Moreno to publish a cookbook. We say YES! We want a way to hold onto what you’ve painstakingly learned; we want a record of all the flavors, the history and the love you put into every dish you served.  I’ll never make the famous zuppe dell’erbe the way you do, but every time I do make my version of it, I honor you.

Great opportunities await. Michela and Paolo will lend their fine sensibilities and sense of discovery to a new venture in Forli, with Giuliana and Moreno consulting...when they feel like it!

As the diners left and the night grew late, the feeling in this joyous restaurant was a determination to keep the spirit of Gambero Rosso alive. The battle cry as everyone was leaving was the same, “A Forli!", so we will travel to Forli to see the new adventure. In bocca al lupo!

 

 

 

 

Wine Philosopher: Paolo Rodaro

According to Paolo Rodaro, there are only four kinds of wine: red, white, good, or bad. If you taste a wine and think, “Hmmm...might be off.” and you taste again, and maybe a third time, Paolo thinks you are wasting time. You were right the first time, send the wine back. He uses real corks, dismissed screw tops as an abomination, politely listened to the virtues of glass caps and then changed the subject to sex. If you do not look a person in the eye when you clink glasses you will be condemned  to seven years of bad sex! And so the conversation meandered during a lovely evening at the Enoteca Wine Club in Umbertide as we ate Antonella’s delicious food and tasted the wines from the Rodaro cantina.

The Rodaro Winery has been producing wine in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region of Italy since 1846. Unlike their famous brethren in Tuscany and Piedmonte, the Friulian wines fly a bit under the radar and are an excellent value for the price.
Nearly eighty percent of the wine produced in Friuli is white, the rest are reds and a little desert wine. Although it produces very good international varietals like Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc, for my money, I find the indigenous grapes like Friulano, Ribolla gialla, Malvasia, Schioppettino or Refosco far more interesting. 

Maybe it’s the snobbish thrill of tasting a wine that can only come from the dirt, sun and rain in Friuli, or maybe because I was tasting something new, but we were having fun! Like meeting an intriguing person: will you be my new best friend, or is this just a moment of flirtation?  As we were sipping the Refosco, I kept sticking my glass under poor Jeff’s nose and pestering him, “Do you think this would work with grilled steak? Would it be better with lamb?”  The unique flavor of the Refosco had my cook’s mind clicking away, wondering what would be the best way to showcase this bold wine.

So why aren’t they planting these luscious grapes everywhere, you might ask. The simple answer is because these vines have a lot of trouble growing anywhere else. Some California vineyards made a gallant try at planting Umbria’s Sagranatino grape, but it hasn’t been successful, mostly due to viruses like leaf roll.  Apparently Sagranatino needs to stay in Umbria to be happy.  

These smaller varietals take a lot of extra TLC, like the thin skinned Malvasia, or the late  to harvest Ribolla gialla. They don’t lend themselves to mass production or consistent flavors like the hardier Sauvignon or Chardonnay grapes.

We started the evening sipping a Ribolla gialla. Gialla means yellow, and this wine is a honeyed golden yellow, light but silky on the tongue; it makes an excellent aperitivo sipping wine, or for lighter antipasto dishes.

For the antipasto course of ‘frico’ (a typical Friuliani dish of melted cheese and potato), Rodaro paired this with a light, fresh Friulano. His white wines are never oaked, so the acidity in the wine played very nicely with the rich frico.
Our fish based ravioli course was paired with a Sauvignon. Others at our table enjoyed the Sauvignon more than the Friulano, but not me. I preferred the lighter touch of the Friulano.

Now it was time to move into the reds. This wine dinner was not for the faint hearted. If you want to discuss wine...you must drink wine! 

We started with the Schioppettino, a light bodied wine, very fresh tasting with floral hints. It reminded me of a young pinot noir, but a bit rougher, sexier, more playful.

Then we moved into the Refosco 2007 which is a much more substantial wine, with a more disciplined structure. Tannic but not over bearing, like a strict but good hearted headmaster. 

Of course, the conversations were getting louder and a bit sillier, when Paolo got up, grabbed one of his wines off the shelf and opened his Refosco 2006.  It was shockingly different...light on the pallet, but full, round, silky. Instead of a headmaster, we had a ballet dancer in our mouth.  Paolo was pleased, he had made his point...the beauty of wine is this difference from year to year. Who needs consistency? This is why we all love wine, why he makes the wine he does. It’s a living souvenir of the summer of 2006.
Then came the sweet Picolit, accompanied by tiny morsels of gorgonzola. And finally, when we thought we couldn’t possibly drink anymore...he brought out the refreshingly light, sweet Verduzzo with plates of biscotti for dunking. 
Thank you Patrick for being the eternal charming host, thank you Antonella for your delicious cooking, thank you Alex for being such an attentive waiter and thank you, thank you Paolo and Laura for sharing your knowledge and your wines!

 

The Mad Men of Le Forna

Surely there are plenty of mad women in the village of Le Forna on Isola di Ponza,  but it’s the mad chefs of Le Forna that captured our hearts and stomachs. From crusty pizza to oily, inky black spaghetti, to delicately fried fish, to impressive apertivi, to a feast on a boat, these men know how to cook!
Il Maestrale
Via Chiesa
Le Forna, Ponza

This is Chef Maurizo’s restaurant and it’s the unofficial town hub for locals. Maurizio can keep an eye on the traffic outside his kitchen, so he’s ready when the fisherman comes to drop off the anchovies, the lady who salts them comes to pick up and drop off, the beer man shows up after being delayed on the mainland for 2 days by bad weather, a boat captain who needs a translation for his advertising (but really just wants to hang around and talk), the guy who builds awnings that Maurizio has declared an artist, and the occasional group of tourists who just enjoy Maurizio’s company. (That would be us!) Going for a swim meant walking by Maurizio’s, which meant we were offered something to eat or drink every time we went by. This is sincere from-the-heart hospitality at its finest. Not to mention that an ice cold Prosecco tastes exceptionally good after hiking up the steep steps from the sea.

Maurizio is also a mad scientist when it comes to liqueurs. He  brewed up a batch of a thick boozy licorice liqueur that would make our Finnish friend Kevin give up his beloved Panda candies and move to Ponza. Kev, forget the Ullr and come to Ponza!
Another time Maurizio was brewing up ‘myrtille’, a sort of herbaceous blackberry digestivo that is perfect after a meal.  Maurizio kindly gave us a bottle to take home, and we’re doling out our last precious sips of Ponza.
Come to Il Maestrale for the excellent pizza and fish, but you’ll keep coming back just to visit with Maurizio.

La Marina
Cala Feola
Le Forna, Ponza
This would be my fantasy restaurant. A shack, stuck into the cliff rock, right on the sea.  A kitchen filled with good music, loudly clanging pots, a barefoot cook, sometimes a dog, and always a few children. Eccentric, eclectic, and absolutely delicious. Because it’s so hard to find (you either have to find the right foot path and walk down about 150 steps, or come by boat) it feels like a private social club.  Not the stuffy club scene, but the grubby sea wolf and wench club.

I have no idea who owns the kitchen or is actually in charge; it seems like a loose confederation, but there is clearly serious attention being paid to cooking the food. The dude who takes the orders must sit down with you and explain what is available that day. Even his young apprentice Franceso needs to sit with you, and if you don’t know the type of fish that is being offered, they will happily draw a picture of the fish.
There is no reason to come here for a quick bite, it’s a place to linger, relax, enjoy the people watching and mangia bene. The menu changes every day, with super fresh fish and lobsters a speciality.

We had already met one of the chefs, called Mangia Fuoco, up at Maurizio’s, so the first time  we walked in we were greeted with a bellowing “Hey New York!” and that’s pretty much the way we were greeted each time we went back. If you care about strict restaurant rules, this is not the place for you. If you want to eat ginger flavored tuna tartare, an incredible plate of fried fish, spaghetti sauced with the strange but super delicious rana pescatrice, or a tomatoey moon fish appetizer, then this is the place for you.
Relax, enjoy, let time drift by and be happy it is summer time in Ponza.


TripAdvisor says they take reservations, but I sincerely doubt that. I think someone there might have a phone, but your best bet is just come and hang out.

Fauno
A Boat ride to Palmarola

One of the best day trips to do is to take a boat tour over to the spectacular small neighboring island of Palmarola. There are a number of boats that do this, but our loyalty belongs with Captain Francesco and his boat, Fauno.

Why is Captain Francesco mad? Because no one else will thread the needle between the razor sharp volcanic rocks like Francesco. He’s a confident daredevil, maybe a pirate and a show off, but always extremely careful.  His boat tour will wander around the Ponza coves and grottoes for awhile. He likes to get up close and personal with Grotte di Pilato (Pontius Pilate’s Caves...and yes Pontius hung out here, and Nero was born on the island. This island has some serious history.) Then he heads over to the marvelously awesome volcanic island of Palmarola. There are swimming stops, always different because of the weather and wind, and when you are good and hungry, he makes lunch. His wife makes the pickled zucchini and eggplant that come on top of the bruschetta, a very hard crust of bread that is dipped in sea water to soften it before being served. This is followed by an excellent pasta dish, sometimes made with swordfish eggs and finally some coffee. It is absolutely perfect.

He lives up in Le Forna, and you can buy a ticket from the little Everything Shop on the main drag in town, or you can just meet him in the port. The boat leaves promptly at 10:30 and gets back when Francesco feels like coming back (usually around 5:00 pm).  It’s the best bargain in town.
Marlin Bar
Main Street, Le Forna
(I’m sure the street has a real name, but it doesn’t really matter)

The Marlin Bar is right at the curve in the road, before the bus stop, and down a few steps. Mind your head if you take the direct route and step over the benches to find your seat on the little outdoor patio.
Devilishly handsome Clemente is the resident mad bar man and this guy knows how to do aperitivi!
The cocktails come out on pieces of beautiful olive wood that Clemente has created. The drinks are surrounded by all sorts of treats: spicy olives, pickled vegetables, soft balls of fried cod, every day it was a different feast.
He also makes one of the best mojitos this group has ever tasted, perfectly balanced between rum, lime and soda water.
Everyone shows up at the Marlin sooner or later, including my favorite dog, Johnny. It’s  an aperitivo oasis after a hot salty hike up from the sea.
La Tartaruga Bar
“Cornettaria”
Le Forna

Almost across the street from the Marlin is La Tartaruga and it’s more of a traditional Italian bar. Serving Neapolitan style pastries and cornetti (cornetti are croissants, but Italian style.) with excellent coffee in the morning, and switching over to light bar food and drinks in the afternoon. Flat screen TV’s play music videos, soccer matches and sometimes the news, and everyone stops there at least once a day.
 
The barmen aren’t really mad, they are just madly efficient and good at what they do. This bar is hopping, people come in waves, and Fabio and Andreas just roll along taking care of everyone.
We were there long enough to watch the transition from early tourist season into nearly high season, so some new barmen joined the ranks. I’m sorry I don’t know your names, but hats off to you as well, because La Tartaruga was always the best place to start our day. And the people watching isn't bad either! 

Quick Tips: Le Forna is the largest village outside of the port town. It's perched high on the hills and has terrific hotels, restaurants and access to the sea by foot. There is even a sandy beach over by La Marina. Access to the island is by ferry or yacht. If you are taking the ferry, you can depart from Anzio, Terracina or Formia, but Formia has the most options. Take the public bus instead of your car, driving is hair raising and parking is impossible.There are plenty of taxis at the port to take you to your hotel.

We’re back on the mainland now, back in Montone, and getting back into the swing of things, but I sure am missing the Mad Men of Le Forna!

Food Meets Art in Venezia & Bologna

A weekend adventure that transports and recharges. Bright cones of ground spices seduce with their colors and their aroma.  A mosaic pattern on the floor is actually an intricate arrangement of rice, beans and peas. A bowl of black seppia ink pasta coats our lips and teeth, turning us into daytime ghouls. Meals that are more than memories...a moment of pleasure on the lips, a lifetime on our hips! Welcome to Venice and Bolgona, exotic planets of fantasy, light, art, water, fruity white wines, friends and the search for surprise and delight. 

After a few years of staying close to home, we’ve decided we need to get out more often, so when our dear friend, the amazing sculptress,  Petah Coyne said she would be in Venice for the Biennale, we thought it might be time to go to Venice. And sweetening this stew of enticement, we would also be able to meet up with the engaging Dana Prescott, Director of Civitella Ranieri Foundation.
Coincidentally our photographer friend Ilva Beretta invited us to a food and art themed gallery opening on the same weekend in Bologna.  
But wait, there’s even more! Another friend,  Scott Givot,  was traveling down from Oslo and would also be in Bologna. Now you understand why we had no choice but to jump on the train. It’s very rare when the stars line up exactly so.

Follow along for a moment and think of Italy as a entire universe.  At 4:45 am we woke up in our home planet of Umbria.  We took a series of trains that transported us in a generically pleasant way to our destination. We read, checked our iPhones, and passed the time until we arrived at the Venice train station which looks just like any other urban Italian train station.

But as you walk out of the train station you are magically transported to planet Venice! There are canals crammed with water taxis and gondole, sidewalks filled with tourists, news stands over loaded with gaudy painted masks and your eyes literally cannot drink in the sights fast enough.

Following our directions, we cross five bridges on the way to our little hideaway hotel, the Locanda ai Santi Apostoli, where we drop our bags in the tiny but charming room and immediately scurry off to meet Petah. We needed to catch a vaporetto (think of it as a subway system on water) and head to the Giardini where the Biennale is in full swing.

As soon as we meet Petah and her delightful friend, Julie the landscape artist, our immediate goal was lunch. Can I mention once more that we were up at 4:45am which is sooo not my normal wake up hour, and by now we were full blown starving. Julie had the name and directions to a lovely place for lunch and of course, and it looked charming, but it was also ‘completo’ or fully booked.

Off we wandered, dejected and hungry, when Jeff and I both spied the unassuming restaurant front that beckoned us to “EAT HERE”.  (He’ll tell you he spied Trattoria alla Rampa first, but I say it was instantaneous...we spied it at the same time from opposite sides of the street.) 


It was a crammed to the gills lunch joint that specialized in about 2 things and one of them was spaghetti nero, or spaghetti made with black seppia ink. Think spaghetti that tastes of the sea, a bit tangy and salty, only it looks like a jet black pile of oily worms. For the uninitiated it takes courage to take the first bite. After that, it leads to general hilarity as everyone at the table looks like they’ve applied vampire make up. Very undignified and delicious.

We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the Arsenale pavilions. Sometimes it seemed as though we were merely observing the artist’s journey, like the Bahamian artist who went to the Artic and discovered color deprivation. Others times, we were literally swept into the creative moment as a huge inverted tree cantilevered and slowly swept the floor, or we were entranced by the “Guge” blocks with their wacky Chinese translations of everyday English. Or we were happily mystified why getting a hair cut in a tree would be considered art.

Our next stop was an art opening called “Glasstress”, which was a page out of Tom Wolfe’s “Back to Blood” only set in Venice instead of Miami. Beautiful people posed with drinks in hand, media types with enormous cameras in one hand, wolfed food down with the other. Entertaining, but 10 minutes was enough. Particularly when we couldn’t even find the glass art we had come to see until we were on the path leading out of the villa where we met up with dapper Nate, another friend of Petah’s and headed out for dinner.

We had plans to meet Dana at a restaurant that we were told was good and had the advantage of being easy to find. Which is true. Once you find your way to the very edge of planet Venice, where the lagoon meets the sea, and there isn’t another vaporetto or tourist in sight, you will easily find Ai Tre Archi. Which is why we were extremely late, and why I apologize again to Dana who we kept waiting, although it seemed as if Dana made friends with everyone in the place while she was waiting.

Over a lively conversation about art and the surprising connections we had to each other, we were treated to a plate of inky black seppia, this time beautifully accented with a golden pond of yellow polenta. This was followed by a seafood antipasto that contained tastes of all the seafood Venice has to offer from tiny shrimp to traditional Venetian baccala mantecato (think dried codfish smothered in sour cream...something I think you need to be born eating or you’ll never acquire a taste for it). We made it as far as the risotto with zucchini and the gnocchi before throwing in the towel and declaring we were finished and it was time to go home.

The next morning, we strolled around drinking in the sights, watching Venice wake up, until it was time for our train to Bologna.  After another scenic vaporetto ride, we stepped back into the generic train station and didn’t step out again until we smacked into the hustle and bustle that is  planet Bologna. This inter-planetary travel is magic, perhaps it could be become humdrum, but if you pay attention, it will always be magical.


After experiencing shin smacking quaint in Venice, we were now staying in the artsy meets fartsy stainless steel palace Una Hotel. Once again, we dumped our bags and headed out to meet friends. Over cocktails with Scott, Lars and the highly entertaining Hanna, we talked about our mutual love of Bologna and all things food, art, and wine.  And before we knew what happened, it was time to go to Ilva’s art opening. Lars took command of my iPhone and skillfully led the way through the maze of streets.  (Are you getting the feeling this art thing is exhausting?? If not, you haven’t been paying attention.)


The EatArt opening at Spazio San Giorgio felt exactly like being in a downtown NYC gallery, except the gallery is also filled with children. Art in Italy is something you experience from the moment you are born...it's not an elective class you first encounter in university ...it is your heritage. We discussed the art, or at least tried to over the roar of conversation, until it was time for dinner when we went our separate ways.

With no set plan, we wound up at the most old school of Bolognese restaurants “Al Papagallo”.  Entering the restaurant is stepping back in time to polished interiors, large tables, menus for women without prices, hushed but friendly service and food you wished your mama had served you growing up.

We dined on tortellini floating in a delicate capon broth, where the little circles of pasta remind you of Venus’s navel, (because beautiful tortellini always make you think of Venus and her belly button, right?), silky green lasagne that was a siren’s alluring call to clog your arteries with savory richness, an absurdly huge slab of deep fried breaded ribs topped with prosciutto and cheese because ribs on their own couldn’t possibly be rich enough, served with an addictive gigantic portion of deep fried zucchini.  Thank god this is a bygone era....who can eat like this and survive??
We called a taxi to take us home. Something we never do, but we’d hit the art/food wall and just needed to go to bed.

Fortified by a good night’s sleep, we headed back onto the streets of Bologna enjoying the sidewalk performers, fancy shops, and music that make up this marvelous city.
We still had one more meal to go, the all important Sunday lunch. Steady on! I know you are still full from last night, but this is Bologna, and when in Bologna you must eat!

Jeff remembered a restaurant that had once turned us away because they were completo, and if there is one thing a determined gourmand will NOT do, it’s forget a meal that didn’t happen. He needed to go back there, and although he didn’t remember the name of the restaurant, his gourmand antennae knew exactly where it is located.
A little sign on an arch, led us down a tiny alley, that led us to “Trattoria Gianni” and the perfect Sunday lunch. Tasty antipasto, followed by a shared lasagne because you’ve never really tasted lasagne until you eat it in Bologna and then you must eat it again and again. Completely sated, we promised the owners we would see them “alla prossima’, or ‘the next time’ we are in Bologna and that is a promise we intend to keep.
Thank god it was time to leave Bologna. This city is a food mecca and one should never stay too long in a place where you run the risk of daily lasagne as that would surely lead to an early, but happy grave.

We rolled back onto the interplanetary train to Arezzo and home. And of course, as soon as we arrived back in Umbria, the rains started once again. What are the God’s plans this year? To turn all of Umbria into a gigantic inland Italian sea?  It certainly seems that way.

But the gods who make rain, also have the power to produce rainbows. And they produced a most spectacular double rainbow that we followed all the way home. Viva the universe that is Italia!

Le Logge Ristorante, Citta di Castello

La Logge is tucked away in the atrium building off the main piazza in Citta di Castello, and they have quietly been developing a fine restaurant. We’ve gone a number of times now and have impressed with their creative menu, execution, presentation and obvious love of what they do. 

The three young proprietors have created a chic, modern and inviting space housed inside a gracious vaulted ceiling dining room. Now that the cold weather is upon us, a very warm crackling fire welcomes the hungry diner.   The wine list is a careful selection of Umrian wines and a few choice regional Italian wines. And by choice, I don’t just mean expensive, I mean they are good choices.

Recently the fall menu included a number of white tartufo selections, and even though this is not a good truffle year in Umbria, their truffles were pungent and delicious. Memories of their steak covered in white truffles will sustain me through a long truffle-less winter in New York. And just for the record, a salad with truffles isn't bad either!

Last Saturday night was the one year anniversary party for Le Logge and we were happy to be there as the good food, good wine and good cheer flowed. Photos of everyone gnawing away at  fabulous bistecca will be kept private!

So, to Arlind, Natascia and Michele: Auguri!! Complimenti! E ci vediamo nella primavera!

Le Logge Ristorante

Piazza Matteotti (Logge Bufalini)

Citta di Castello, PG

Tel: 075-864-2304

[email protected]

Goings on in the Upper Tiber Valley: Montone, Umbertide, Sagrantino

It’s time for a local news update:

Weather report: still cool. We’ve actually had a good, steady rain, which is a blessing because everything was tinderbox dry. It was looking more like an African savannah than the green heart of Italy.  I’m crossing my fingers that this rain will bring porcini mushrooms; it’s been 2 or 3 years since we’ve had the right combination of rain, followed by the warm weather that is necessary to get these ‘shrooms to sprout.

Vendammia (grape harvest) is under way and this weekend is the big Sagrantino release and festival. Montefalco, here we come!

The Montone piazza is still ripped up! Originally we thought it was to fix the water problems, but no, it seems some of the stones in front of the tabaccheria and the hairdressing shop need to be replaced. The Aries bar has no outdoor seating except the front porch, the old guy’s eternal card game has had to move indoors and town just feels unsettled.

There is huge screen set up right down the middle of the piazza, and for over 10 days now, Martina and the tabaccheria are behind the screen, along with very noisy stonecutting machines. We’re thinking this may not have improved her usual good mood.  Stone cutting begins promptly at 7:00 am. This was supposed to be a quick fix project, but no one is taking bets on when it will be finished.

Umbertide had their Ottocento festa over the weekend and it was a rousing good time. Forgoing the whole medieval theme, Fratta (the original name of Umbertide) has embraced the roaring 1800’s. It is a festival in every sense of the word: lavish tavernas done up as genteel parlor rooms, can can girls, dance performances, jugglers, ragazzi running in the streets with bayoneted rifles, spectacularly bad wine, incredibly good home digestivi. We sampled basil, erbe and Indian fig, and all were outstanding. Oh, yes, and did I mention the ring toss around the salami game? There was a large, erect salami, and if you got the ring around it, you took the salami home. Fun for the whole family! We went home tired, with sore feet, and big smiles. I love this festa!

Figs are in season and I have eaten too many of them. There are still good peaches to be had. Tomatoes are winding down.

Getting a pizza on a Monday night was even harder than usual. It took four tries before we found a pizza last night! Franco is always closed on Monday, Nestors is on ferie, Old Café was closed…we finally wound up at Habanera’s in Umbertide. Pizza Guru was beside himself as he led us on this pizza pilgrimage. Habanera’s deserves to be fourth on the list, but we still managed to have a good time.

And that’s the news.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Classic: Locanda al Gambero Rosso

New is not always better. Sometimes there is a very good reason for a classic dish to be classic. Sometimes trendy doesn’t satisfy and sometimes you can simply be blown away by a combination of good service, good wine and outstanding food.

We went to Locanda al Gambero Rosso a few years ago and had a sublime evening and for no particular reason, we haven’t been back since. Just over the border, in Emilia Romagna, it’s about a 40 minute drive from Montone, and it is beyond a doubt worth the drive.

There is nothing pretentious, stuffy or trendy to be found here, even though it could be. It isn’t even expensive, although they could charge more. Maybe the décor could use a little update, maybe its absolutely perfect the way it is.  Who can find fault with local dishes served with utmost respect and top notch ingredients?

We arrived early (by Italian standards), but it’s a Saturday night, and we don’t have reservations, so we’re a little worried. But, the smiling Guiliana congratulates us on getting the last available table and our worries disappear.  We’re scruffy from a day of adventures, but Guiliana welcomed us and made us comfortable right away.

A treat arrives within moments: a chilled panzanella salad with some exquisite shreds of house made pickled zucchini.

As we lick that plate clean and settle in with a spectacular and very reasonably priced bottle of wine: La Terrazze, a Rosso Conero; another treat arrives.  This time it’s a small bowl of ‘fricassee’, or stewed tomatoes, onions and eggs. Jeff declares he would like it served in a baby bottle and he would be quite content to just take sips all day long. I suppose that is what you would call nurturing food.

The dark, nearly black, wine is soft and fruity and works so very well with the carpaccio covered in summer truffles. Carpaccio and truffles being one of the world’s great, underused combinations.

Once again, we made the Pasta Pact and we share two entirely different pastas: a creamy, decadent truffled lasagna and strongoprezzi with ‘erbe’. “Erbe” is sort of a catch all word for stewed bitter greens. We’re still debating which was better, and I doubt there will be a clear winner.

No Pact was made for secondi, and I was happy because I didn’t really want to share my stuffed rabbit. Jeff was equally content to just give me a nibble of his roasted pigeon. Each dish came with about four different vegetable bits that could have been a star in their own right.

We actually even opted for desert, something we almost never do. I tried the local dish “lattiolo’, which is a dense, eggy custard and Jeff had a simple crema catalana. Even dessert came with a little treat: a small pot of yogurt mixed with homemade berry marmellata.

We could not have been a happier, more satisfied couple and we are completely mystified why we haven’t been back sooner. We are already plotting our return. 

My apologies for the lousy photos, they don’t do the food justice, but I don’t like whipping out my big camera in an intimate dining setting, so I guess you’ll just have to go and eat there yourself.

Locanda al Gambero Rosso - via G. Verdi, 5 - 47021 Bagno di Romagna loc. S. Piero (FC) - tel e fax +39 0543 903405

 

 

Inspiration: Osteria Piazzetta Dell’Erba

Getting out of Dodge over the weekend was inspiring. It refreshes me to walk out of the kitchen and do something totally unrelated to food, things like look at an ironworkers competition or ride a bike.  It also forces us to eat out, something we don’t get around to doing that much.

After Sunday’s very beautiful and satisfying lunch at Osteria Piazzetta Dell’Erba in Assisi, I’m thinking about pasta sauces in a different way. The Osteria is a chic little restaurant, slightly off the main tourist streets, where they take the classics and put a nice little spin on them. Situated in a tiny piazzetta, with large sun umbrellas and a view down a quaint and quiet street, its a little gem.

The antipasto was a quartet of intriguing flavors: a delicious melted tomino cheese, prosciutto served with small, crisp bits of watermelon, precisely cut rings of mozzarella sandwiched bits of sun dried tomatoes, and a bresola with a thin yogurt like sauce and peaches. The only off note was the too firm peaches, but the prosciutto and watermelon worked like a charm playing the sweet and crunchy fruit off of the soft and salty proscuitto.

Jeff and I made our pasta pact: we share halfway.  The pasta pact rules include: you must agree to the split prior to it being served to you, no matter what, you split down the middle and share, no backsies.  We shared a red, radicchio stuffed ravioli with pancetta and asparagus, and a tagliarini with a unique pesto sauce. Unique because it was deconstructed; rather than mush up all the ingredients, it seemed as if only the basil and oil had been combined, but the nuts, cheese and fresh tomato had obviously been tossed in at the last moment. It was delicious, with the different tastes and textures of each ingredient being very distinct. They had a deconstructed amatriciana (pancetta and tomato based sauce) on the menu, but I couldn’t talk Pact Man into trying it. Oh well. The idea of tossing fresh tomatoes and crispy pancetta in with oil softened onions sounds pretty good to me, so I guess I’ll have to deconstruct on my own. 

The red tinged ravioli, stuffed with radiccio and ricotta was lovely, and I haven't seen or tasted any asparagus in months, so that was a treat, but it was as inspiring as the pesto.

Another intriguing pasta combination was zucchini and summer truffles; not something I would instinctively put together, but the scent coming from the table next to us makes me think this is also something to try.

The only disappointment was the wine list, which we both felt was over-priced, but I suppose that is to be expected in such a tourist rich town.

Assisi is full of ‘menu touristico’ type restaurants and trattorias so it was refreshing to find a restaurant that is clearly a cut above the usuals.

Osteria Piazzetta dell’Erba

Via S. Gabriele dell’Addolorata

06081 Assisi (PG)

Tel: 075/815352           

Thumbs Up from the Pizza Guru

We were nervous. Our reputation was on the line. But, the intrepid Pizza Guru needed to taste the pizza at Triangolo, so we met him at a designated parking lot and set out on our venture to find a truly good pizza.

Set deep in the Carpini valley, the mysterious town of Pietralunga seems an inauspicious place for a pizza worthy of consideration.  The omens were not looking good when we arrived. No table outside, so we awkwardly camped around an indoor table facing the TV screen, when lo and behold a table outside became available. Pizza Guru has a six sense about these things and he was ON that table before we knew what happened.

The table was reset and we explored different uses for the little paper bag that is used to hold the napkin and silverware. This is a weird phenomenon that happens around here, your silverware gets put into a totally useless little bag.  Does this happen anywhere else, or is there a powerful silverware paper bag cartel operating in Umbria?

As our mixed antipasto plate was put in front of us, the next bad omen occurred. Pizza Guru’s fork was so flimsy it bent at the touch of salami. While I wondered about Pizza Guru’s strange powers, he was waxing on about a pizza place near Lago Trasimeno that has the most perfect pizza knife; it has a serrated angled tip that just slices right through crust.

 

And now for the moment of truth.  His pizza arrived and I tried not to look, or be too anxious. But after a few bites, Pizza Guru set down his fork, looked around and pronounced, “This is a fine pizza.”  Whew. It’s a serious business, this eternal search for goodness. We must respect the pizza.

 

Renegade Paul threw all caution to the winds and ordered the “Doppio” pizza… behold its awesomeness, covered in anchovy and caper cream. It just blows a purist's mind. 

And as for the gelato place next door? I had a fig and walnut gelato that truly rocked. Mitch, are you paying attention? Fig and walnut. The walnuts were in syrup, the figs were fresh. It sent shivers to my core.

N.B. Confidentiality agreement prevents us from posting any actual photos of the Pizza Guru.